


Hard Truths

by katie_049



Series: Little Things [1]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M, Post 9x02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_049/pseuds/katie_049
Summary: “You’ve got some nerve showing your face to me,” the dark-haired woman yelled at him across the open space, her voice echoing through the apartment. “You know where I’ve been until just a few minutes ago, huh?” She lifted her arms to her hips, leveling him with a challenging look, but not giving him any time to answer. “I’ve been over at Brett’s place the entire night, trying to console her, because you decided to break her heart.”Post 9x02 "That Kind of Heat" in which Casey gets some more heat from a certain dark-haired, very protective firefighter.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Series: Little Things [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023634
Comments: 29
Kudos: 140





	Hard Truths

**Author's Note:**

> As if I couldn't write anything after that episode. I dreamt up a whole series of one-shots in my head, and they are all gonna land here. I might aim for one for each week we don't get a new episode, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do that, so no promises.  
> Anyway, welcome to the series 'Little Things'. I think you can all guess what you'll get to read her soon ;) 
> 
> Many thanks go out to puff822 and gilbxrt-blythe on Tumblr who both helped me with a few things in this piece. I appreciate your help! :)

Tired and grumpy, Matt emerged from his room to get himself some coffee. He had barely slept last night, Sylvie’s crushed face not leaving his mind. He had heard her sobs as he stood in front of her door, slapping himself mentally for being the one that caused her this pain.

It was the last thing he had wanted to do. When she had kissed him, his brain short-circuited, and it took him a second to understand that his attraction for her wasn’t one-sided. She felt it too, and she had a lot more courage than he did. God knows how long this sweet yet agonizing tension between them would have lasted if she hadn’t made the first move.

And just when he finally thought everything was falling into place, she had asked him about Gabby and his brain had short-circuited for a second time. He had honestly not thought about her for a long time, and Sylvie’s question had caught him off guard. His brain was still catching up with the fact that he was finally kissing Sylvie, and then she confronted him with his ex-wife, and he had put his foot in his mouth.

And instead of clearing everything up, he had just dug himself a deeper hole, watching as he crumbled the beautiful woman’s heart like it was just a thin piece of paper.

When she had asked him to leave, he obliged almost too fast, afraid to cause her any more pain than he already had, and that was another dick move on his side. He screwed everything with her up in a matter of a few minutes, and now he didn’t know how he could possibly face her again.

Just as Matt rounded the corner, he came into view with Kidd and Severide who both sat at the counter in the kitchen area, drinking coffee. The second Kidd noticed him, she jumped up from her spot, her jaw tightening.

“You’ve got some nerve showing your face to me,” the dark-haired woman yelled at him across the open space, her voice echoing through the apartment. “You know where I’ve been until just a few minutes ago, huh?” She lifted her arms to her hips, leveling him with a challenging look, but not giving him any time to answer. “I’ve been over at Brett’s place the entire night, trying to console her, because you decided to break her heart.”

While he was glad Kidd was there for Sylvie, he knew she would rip him a new one now. The young woman had a strong protective streak for all her close friends, and he should have seen it coming. Sighing, he closed his eyes. “Kidd, listen to me.”

“No, I will not listen to you. You will listen to me,” she interrupted him angrily. “Brett is one of the purest and most genuine people we both know, and she deserves the world. Someone who loves her completely and without any conditions. She is not and will never be anyone’s consolation prize. What the fuck is wrong with you?” She slammed her flat hand against the counter, making the two cups standing on top of it clatter.

Even his best friend next to her flinched at her sudden outburst, reaching out to grab onto her arm.

“Stella,” Severide mumbled quietly, but the firefighter tore her arm out of his grip, slowly walking closer to Matt with flaring nostrils.

“She’s not a consolation prize, Kidd,” Matt threw in to soften the blow, but it didn’t help as Stella just continued her route towards him.

“You’re damn sure she isn’t, and yet you’re still treating her like one. Why on earth would you string Brett along if you’re still in love with Gabby? And don’t tell me you haven’t openly pursued her, because I’ve been watching you dance around each other for the last few months,” she challenged him, stopping in front of him. “How can you go from a manic jumping out of a moving truck cause she’s in danger to someone who breaks her heart in less than a few days? Who in their right mind does that?”

“I haven’t thought of or spoken to Gabby since her last visit,” Matt started off, once again chickening out of addressing the Gabby subject any further than necessary, especially when Kidd was this mad. “And I certainly didn’t want to hurt Sylvie like that. It kills me knowing she’s upset.”

“Upset? Are you kidding me?” The firefighter’s voice dropped dangerously low, and she squeezed her eyes together to tiny slits. “You didn’t just upset her. You ripped out her heart and shred it into tiny pieces. When I got to her place yesterday, she was a sobbing mess. She cried for half of the night, only falling asleep from exhaustion. In all my years as her friend, I have never seen her this distraught. You’re a damn fool, Casey!”

Matt pressed his lips together at Stella’s description of Sylvie’s state. It was even worse than he thought, but what did he expect? Stella was right. He crushed her feelings in a matter of seconds. The image of Sylvie’s devastated face flashed through his mind, and he clenched his hands into fists until his fingernails were digging into his skin. The sharp pain radiated through the palm of his hands, and he turned his focus onto that.

“It has never been my intention to hurt Sylvie. She’s someone special to me, and her happiness is important to me,” he clarified in a tight voice, swallowing thickly. “Her question caught me off guard, and I respect her too much to not be honest with her.”

“You’re meaning to tell me you would still choose Gabby even two years after your divorce and not hearing from her for over a year?” Kidd exclaimed in disbelief, shaking her head before adding, “Don’t get me wrong, I love Gabby. But the two of you had a long list of problems before she left for Puerto Rico. Your relationship with Gabby was not healthy, at least not in the end.”

“Don’t you think I know that? We were together for five years, going through god knows how many difficulties. She was a big part of my life that I can’t just shut out,” Matt objected, crossing his arms over his chest. “But apart from all our problems, I have a lot of good memories of our relationship too. I loved her for a long time.”

“So, you’re really holding onto the hope of her coming back to Chicago?” Stella asked him in disbelief, her brows furrowed together. “She’s happy there. You know that, and so does everyone else. And if you would have wanted to leave Chicago, you could have done so almost two years ago, or even last year when she visited. But you never did, and that speaks volumes.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but the words got stuck in his throat. Why was he standing here and defending his crumbled relationship with Gabby in the first place? He hadn’t honestly thought about her at all during the last year, only for a brief moment when Louie had crossed his mind. But even then, it was more about Louie than Gabby.

“You stayed in Chicago, and for the last year, you formed this beautiful bond with Brett, who loves so whole-heartedly it keels you over. She’s been making you happier than I’ve seen you in a long time, and you go and throw all of that away,” Stella told him bitterly, and he could hear the judgment dripping from her voice. “You’d be a fool if you let her go. But I guess this is the easy way out, isn’t it? God forbid you would ever deal with your feelings.”

She was throwing some hard truths at him, and he closed his eyes as a wave of sadness spread through his entire body. He desperately wanted to tell her she wasn’t right, but it would be a lie. He’s always been bad at dealing with his feelings, and this incident was just another example of that.

“You better figure your shit out, before you talk to Brett again,” Stella warned him, stabbing her finger into his chest. “Because if I find out you made this any worse, you’re gonna have to deal with me.” She gave him a small shove, and he stumbled backward, losing his balance for a second.

“OK, Stella. That’s enough,” Kelly interfered, making his way over to them and pulling his girlfriend back by the shoulders. “Why don’t you go and take a breather, huh? I think you made your point clear.”

“You’re better not be on his side, Kelly. You should have seen Brett. He did a number on her,” Stella mumbled, still angry as she shrugged her boyfriend’s hands off her, before throwing him one last glare as she moved away from them, stomping off towards Severide and her bedroom.

His arms fell loosely down his sides, and he took a deep breath before reaching up to scrub a hand over his face.

“You know she’s partially right about a few things,” Severide pulled his attention towards him. “Brett doesn’t deserve to walk in Dawson’s shadow. Someone like her doesn’t come around often. She’s quite the catch, and one day she’s gonna make someone really happy.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Matt huffed in frustration. The thought of someone else being with Sylvie didn’t sit right with him at all. He wasn’t usually the jealous type, but a flash of possessiveness surged through him that was completely misplaced. She wanted to be with him. That wasn’t the problem.

“Did you really tell Brett you didn’t know if you would go with Dawson if she asked you to?” His friend pressed him again as he walked back into the kitchen area to grab a clean cup out of the cupboard.

Matt knew he wasn’t going to get out of this conversation with his friend, just like he hadn’t gotten out of Stella’s rant. Resigned, he made his way over to the counter, letting himself fall onto one of the barstools. Resting his elbow onto the surface, he leaned his head into the palm of his hand.

“It was not my brightest moment, but my head wasn’t exactly in the game that second,” Matt started, averting his gaze. “I think my mind was still trying to catch up to the fact that I was finally kissing her.” He paused, a small smile forming on his lips. “That she actually wanted me to kiss her just as much as I wanted to kiss her.”

He felt himself getting lost in the memory of her soft lips against his, and the way her hands had run through his hair and held him close to her. He loved the way she had framed his face with her hands, her long fingers brushing softly over his cheeks.

“So, she caught you off guard?” His friend helped him along, pouring coffee into the mug and placing it in front of him.

“Sylvie and Gabby are two separate people in my head, and I have never thought about them in the same instance. What I feel for Sylvie has always been completely separate from anything concerning Gabby,” Matt explained, wrapping his hands around the warm cup.

“But why didn’t you tell her that? I honestly don’t see your problem here.”

“Would I want to try again if Gabby came back to Chicago, though?” Matt changed Sylvie’s question as his fingers drummed against the cup nervously. “Because I have never given any thought to her coming back. I know I wouldn’t leave Chicago. Stella’s right about that. But what would I do if she came back for good? Would I be able to just forget our time together and not try to work it out with her?”

Severide pushed himself off the counter, putting his hands on his hips. “Answer me one question here. Did you lose sleep over the possibility of Dawson coming back and wanting to rekindle your relationship or over worrying you screwed up your chance with Brett?”

It was an easy answer. “I can’t get Sylvie’s hurt face out of my head. It kills me knowing I caused her this much pain.”

“Don’t you think you have your answer then?” Severide pointed out, shaking his head softly. “Your relationship with Gabby is not something you can fix, Case. You tried that more than once, and it didn’t work out. You wanted different things, and even if she hadn’t left for Puerto Rico, you guys would have reached a dead-end at some point.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, Matt pulled in some air and then slowly released it again. Was this one reason he hadn’t fought harder for them all those years ago? If he was honest with himself, he had shoved all his feelings after the end of his marriage into the deepest corner of his mind just to get past the rage and anger he had felt back then.

“Look, I think this is something you need to work through on your own before you make any more decisions regarding Brett. You need to come clean with yourself about everything that happened with Gabby if you want to move on,” Severide advised him, reaching out to grab his coffee mug from the counter. “And you do want to move on, otherwise you wouldn’t have pursued Brett the way you did. You’re a decent guy, Case. You’d never hurt her intentionally.”

Sighing, Matt let out a frustrated grown. “I should have never pushed it down for that long, and I hate that it might now cost me the one person who matters most to me.”

“No offense taken,” Severide chuckled as he dumped his lukewarm coffee down the sink, before turning more serious again. “If I got anything from Stella’s angry rant, it’s that Brett’s feelings run pretty deep and the chance of those going away quickly are slim. And apart from all of that, she’s big on second chances. You can still get this right. Just don’t screw this up a second time.”

“I don’t plan on doing that,” Matt declared firmly as the image of Sylvie’s heartbroken face flashed in front of his eyes again. It was probably something that wouldn't leave him anytime soon.

“I’m gonna check on Stella to see if all our pillows are still intact. You might wanna stay clear of her for a few days. She loves fiercely, and you just hurt her best friend,” the squad lieutenant cautioned him, before walking away towards Stella and his room. 

Pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket, Matt unlocked it, opening his photostream, and pulling up a recent picture of Sylvie on the day she moved into her new apartment. It was a selfie Stella had taken that featured the two women and Kelly and him after they had finally unloaded the last box. Sylvie was standing in the middle of their small pile, leaning with her back against his chest while beaming at the camera. She looked beautiful, even though half of her hair had fallen out of her small ponytail, and her face was covered in sweat from the incredible heat that day.

The picture stood in stark contrast to her expression yesterday, and he vowed to himself to put that radiant smile back onto her face. He would work through his years of baggage, even if it would be uncomfortable and painful in the process. Sylvie deserved to have someone who would always put her first, and if he wanted to be that person, he needed to make an effort. And deep down, he knew that it’d be worth it in the end.


End file.
